Apparatus for limited access and withdrawal of discrete objects from containers



c. J. SAU BER 3,325,052 APPARATUS FOR LIMITED ACCESS AND WITHDRAWAL June 13, 1967 OF DISCRETE OBJECTS FROM CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 13, 1965 FIG. 6

FIG5

INVENTOR CHARLES J. SAUBER FIGT H6 8 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,325,052 APPARATUS FOR LIMZTED ACCESS AND WITHDRAWAL 0F DISCRETE OBJECTS FROM CGNTAINERS Charles J. Sauber, Sauber Road, Virgil, Ill.

Filed Dec. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 513,221 2 Claims. (Cl. 221-256) medicament containers such as pill bottles or the like.

Many of these although accomplishing the goal of limiting access to children, were found also to be bafiling or at least overly time-consuming for adults, particularly under stress or other emotional influence.

The present invention solves many of these problems by providing as its principal object a method of not only limiting access to a container housing discrete objects such as pills, capsules or the like, but permitting the removal of only limited amounts of the contents even by persons having knowledge of the principle of gaining access to the contents via the closure. The invention also features several embodiments of captive closures for carrying out the aforesaid method, and permitting the dispensing of a limited quantity of the contents.

These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent as the ensuing description proceeds, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional pill bottle and closure for carrying out the present invention, the closure being in closed position.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view identical to that of FIG. 1 except illustrating the closure in open position.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1 at 90 rotation.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the bottle and closure in closed position as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of closure for carrying out the invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are longitudinal sectional views of further embodiments of container closures for carrying out the invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings of various embodiments of container closures for carrying out the invention, the method is suitable for use with any conventional container or pill bottle having a shoulder disposed entirely or partially about the access opening. Such a container has been conveniently illustrated as a conventional fiat sided, generally rectangular, cross sectioned bottle having a circular neck defining an access opening, such as is commonly employed for aspirin. The method involves utilization of a captive cap or stopper having depending therefrom a hinge-like or wing-like appendage, which, much like a hinged toggle nut, will pass readily only once through an opening or neck into the bottle interior, but cannot be fully withdrawn thereafter from the opening due to the one way wing or wing-like hinged elements of the appendage becoming engaged unyieldingly with the shoulder of the bottle, preventing full withdrawal of the stopper away from the container, thus limiting the access to the bottle. Removal of a limited quantity of discrete contents such as pills from the bottle is also assured. In order to remove a limited number of pills, for example, from the bottle, the bottle must first be turned upside down to gravitate some of the contents adjacent the stopper. Turning the bottle right side up entraps a limited quantity of the discrete contents in the Wing-like appendage. This may also be accomplished by rotating the bottle from right side up 360 through bottom side up to right side up, thus entrapping pills on the leading wing in the direction of rotation. When the stopper is then removed or opened, only such a pill or pills trapped in the appendage may be dispensed (poured out). Thus a young child, such as a pre-school youngster not yet having achieved the use of reasoning, would most likely be incapable of releasing any of the contents from the bottle. Conversely, persons having attained the use of reason but, for example, in a highly emotional or agitated state, would only be able to release the proper dosage or, at most, a very limited dosage, thus not being able to mistakenly in such a state of anxiety take or administer an overdose without proceeding through another series of mental and physically coordinated steps.

Referring now specifically to FIGURES 1 to 4, inclusive, there is illustrated a conventional pill bottle or container 10 provided with a shoulder 11 terminating in a neck 12. The neck 12 defines an opening or outlet 13. The outer portion of the neck may be provided with a raised ridge or threads 14 if the cap portion is desired to be of the threaded, snap-on or bayonet connection types, for example. A closure 15 comprising a cap member 16 is adapted for use with glass bottles where the internal of the neck 12 does not lend itself to close dimensional tolerances. An inturned lip 17 or other interlocking projection arrangement engages the ridge 14 on the external of the neck 12. The cap may take any convenient or ornamental form permitting it to be grasped externally, and as an alternative, could take the form of a stopper or plug for press-fit engagement with the internal of the neck 12. Depending from the cap member 16 is an article dispensing assembly comprising a web 18, and the lower end of which is provided a pair of wing members 19. The wings are provide-d with a notch or notches 20, permitting flexure toward one another, and limiting flexure away from one another substantially beyond the position illustrated, but in no event downwardly, so that the wings 19, once inserted within the bottle, may not be withdrawn from and through the opening 13 even though the stopper element 16 may itself be raised. As indicated in FIGURE 4, the wings 19 are generally rectangular in shape, being sufficiently longer than wide, and thus enabled to pass downwardly through opening 13, but, once through, not withdrawable by intervention with the shoulder 11. The depending web 18 and wings 19 may also be and preferably are integrally formed with the cap element 16. Depending on the flexibility and thickness of the closure material, another hinge position may be provided in the web as at 21. This hinge 21 permits the cap element 16, when withdrawn from opening 13, to be tipped or tilted to ease removal of pills from one side or the other, or both sides. The length of the web 18 is proportioned with respect to the dihedral and area of the wing elements 19 to permit the stopper element to be freed from the opening 13 only enough to release the trapped pill or pills. It is presently contemplated that the closure 15 be formed of a plastic material such as polyethylene or polystyrene. Obviously, other suitable materials may be used.

FIGURE 5 illustrates a closure 25 having a cap portion 26 fitting snugly about and over the ridge or lip 14 of neck 12 of a pill bottle 10. The closure 25 is shown to have a rigid column 28 depending from one side of the cap member 26. At the base of the column 28 and to one side extends a single, generally rectangular wing 27 which is sufficiently flexible to pass downwardly through neck 12 into the bottle but sufliciently rigid to resist being withdrawn through the neck 12 when resisted by contact with the shoulder 11 of the bottle 10. The column 28 may be solid, or as illustrated, semicircular in cross section,

depending on the number of pills desired to be entrapped and permitted to be withdrawn. For example, if only a single pill were the desired dosage, the column 28 could be solid, permitting but one pill to be trapped on wing 27. In the embodiment of FIGURE 5, the column 28 is slightly longer than the web 18 in FIGURES l and 2, due to its inflexibility. The length and angle of wing 27 with respect to the column 28, however, is correspondingly adjusted to permit the element 26 to be separated from the mouth of the neck 12 sufficiently to permit the release of the pill trapped on wing 27. FIGURES 7 and 8 illustrate other embodiments of closures for carrying out the invention. In FIGURE 7, the closure 30 is illustrated to take the form of a stopper element 32 or plug to engage snugly with the opening 13. This arrangement is particularly adaptable to plastic bottles where the opening 13 can be held to close tolerances or readily reamed out to a selected diameter. The closure 30 is provided with a solid column 31 depending from the stopper element 32, and a single wing-like projection 33 extending at right angles from the column 31. A hinge slot 34 is provided to permit insertion into the bottle and some flexibility permitting the stopper element 32 to be tilted to permit withdrawal of the pill or pills trapped on wing 33.

FIGURE 8 illustrates another embodiment of closure permitting withdrawal of a larger dosage of pills from a pill bottle 10. Here the closure 35 is likewise illustrated as being provided with a stopper element 36 for snug press-fit engagement with the neck opening 13. Depending from one side of the stopper element 36 is a web- 37. At the base of the web 37 and to one side extends a scoop or generally V-shaped element 38 adapted totrap a multiple dosage of pills. Opposite the trap 38 extends a projection 39, which, together with the lateral span of the trap 38, is dimensioned and arranged to prevent the wing element 38 from being withdrawn through the opening 13 after once being inserted due to the interference of the shoulder 11 with the outer end of scoop 38 and projection 39.

Having described in detail the method of this invention and several embodiments of closure apparatus suitable for carrying out the method, it will be understood that further modifications will be suggested to those skilled in the art, all such of which as come Within the spirit of this invention being intended to fall within its scope as best defined in the appended claims, wherein there is claimed:

1, A captive closure device for limiting access to and withdrawal of discrete articles from a container having a restricted opening, a closure member for said opening, and means for releasably securing the closure member to the container, the improvement comprising an article dispenser assembly including a web means depending centrally from the closure, and a pair of wing members integrally formed with and extending dihedrally toward the closure from the distal end of the web means, said web means being of suflicient length to provide clearance of the closure from the opening to withdraw articles from the wing members, said wing members being greater in one dimension than the container opening, and being sufliciently flexible to pass through said opening into the container but adapted and arranged to block said opening and prevent withdrawal thereof through said opening, whereby only a limited number of discrete objects may be trapped at any one time by one or both said wing members upon rotation of the container either clockwise or counter-clockwise and released from the container upon opening the closure.

2. A captive closure device as claimed in claim 1, in

which the web means is integrally formed with the closure 7 and is hingedly connected thereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,149,698 3/1939 Humphrey 14l1l2 2,891,704 6/1958 Morrison 222-543 3,167,218 1/1965 Graham 22236'1 3,276,626 10/1966 Stevens 221-257 WALTER SOBIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CAPTIVE CLOSURE DEVICE FOR LIMITING ACCESS TO AND WITHDRAWL OF DISCRETE ARTILES FROM A CONTAINER HAVING A RESTRICTED OPENING, A CLOSURE MEMBER FOR SAID OPENING, AND MEANS FOR RELEASABLY SECURING THE CLOSURE MEMBER TO THE CONTAINER, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING AN ARTICLE DISPENSER ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A WEB MEANS DEPENDING CENTRALLY FROM THE CLOSURE, AND A PAIR OF WING MEMBERS INTEGRALLY FORMED WITH AND EXTENDING DIHEDRALLY TOWARD THE CLOSURE FROM THE DISTAL END OF THE WEB MEANS, SAID WEB MEANS BEING OF SUFFICIENT LENGTH TO PROVIDE CLEARANCE OF THE CLOSURE FROM THE OPENING TO WITHDRAW ARTICLES FROM THE WING MEMBERS, SAID WING MEMBERS BEING GREATER IN ONE DIMENSION THAN THE CONTAINER OPENING, AND BEING SUFFICIENTLY FLEXIBLE TO PASS THROUGH SAID OPENING INTO THE CONTAINER BUT ADAPTED AND ARRANGED TO BLOCK SAID OPENING AND PREVENT WITHDRAWAL THEREOF THROUGH SAID OPENING, WHEREBY ONLY A LIMITED NUMBER OF DISCRETE OBJECTS MAY BE TRAPPED AT ANY ONE TIME BY ONE OR BOTH SAID WING MEMBERS UPON ROTATION OF THE CONTAINER EITHER CLOCKWISE OR COUNTER-CLOCKWISE AND RELEASED FROM THE CONTAINER UPON OPENING THE CLOSURE. 